Patriots Daily: Offensive Line Struggles; Barmore Returns

The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles met for a joint practice yesterday, with defenses winning the day. The Patriots offense struggled mightily. Nearly a quarter of plays in competitive drills resulted in New England quarterbacks getting sacked.  There was no success in the rushing attack either. The Eagles’ defense presented a difficult challenge entering the joint session, but the results were still discouraging even knowing how excellent Philadelphia’s defense was.

New England’s starting offensive line remained unchanged. It consisted of Vederian Lowe (LT), Sidy Sow (LG), David Andrews (C), Mike Onwenu (RG), and Chukwuma Okorafor (RT). If Jerod Mayo is planning to start “the best five” offensive linemen, as he has stated, it is a poor reflection of the reserves in the unit.

Tackles in the non-starters include third-round pick Caedan Wallace, Calvin Anderson, Kellen Diesch, and Zuri Henry. Interior offensive linemen consist of fourth-round pick Layden Robinson, Atonio Mafi, Nick Leverett, Michael Jordan, Liam Fornadel, and Charles Turner III.

Eliot Wolf received largely positive reviews for his work this offseason. However, offensive tackle is a premier position, and questioning whether it was properly addressed is a valid concern. If the offensive line struggles as much as it did in 2023 it is hard to see the offense or the win total improving much either. Can they figure out a way to fix this situation before it’s too late? Stay tuned.

Christian Barmore Returns to Practice

On a tough day for the New England Patriots, one bit of good news was the first Christian Barmore sighting at practice since his blood clot diagnosis. No medical update or timetable for a return was given on Barmore. The defensive tackle did not participate in practice and remained in street clothes. However, seeing him out with his team was still nice.

Also in Wednesday’s Patriots Daily:

Patriots Fact of the Day

The New England Patriots don’t appear eager to throw rookie offensive linemen Caedan Wallace, Layden Robinson, Charles Turner III, or Zuri Henry into the fire. However, the team had four rookie offensive linemen start on Super Bowl championship teams:

2001 – Matt Light
2003 – Dan Kooppen
2014 – Bryan Stork
2016 – Joe Thuney

Post of the Day

Some highlights from the New England Patriots joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles. Jabrill Peppers playing the role of steamroller is a personal favorite here:

Flying around with the birds. pic.twitter.com/OWDDok1GJ0

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 13, 2024

Eight Eagles, Patriots Players Remain From Super Bowl 52 – New England and Philadelphia met in February 2018 in Super Bowl 52. Many players have retired or moved on to other NFL teams. But eight players remain with the same team that employed them that day, four each from the Eagles and Patriots.

Coach Dont’a Hightower Making Positive First Impression – Dont’a Hightower played his entire NFL career with the New England Patriots. He enters training camp as a coach for the first time in 2024. One of his peers is already calling him a future NFL head coach.

Boston Bruins

Boston Hockey Now – The Boston Bruins are in a down period. The NHL Draft and the first wave of free agency have passed. Training camp has yet to arrive. But there is still plenty happening, from new uniform numbers to trade rumors, and BHN has it all covered.

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